How did I become an F1 driver?

Chapter 675 Chapter 659: Test Drive SF24 (6K plus more)

After the meeting was over, Qin Miao invited the guests out for a meal. After all, Qin Miao himself was quite tired from organizing the meeting.

After seeing his friends off, Qin Miao’s rest life did not end.

Because the Ferrari team meeting is coming up.

It’s a bit like the annual meeting held in China at the end of each year.

Qin Miao needs to be present both as a team driver and as a team shareholder.

After the event, Qin Miao stayed at home, exercising every day, taking care of the children, and playing games.

I had a comfortable winter break.

Rest time is always short. After the New Year at home and the winter vacation, Qin Miao left home and flew to Milan, Italy with his wife and daughter.

It is worth mentioning that during the winter break, Qin Miao basically didn't watch the news. Therefore, after Qin Miao went to Milan's new home and opened his work email, Qin Miao learned that during the winter break, Toto and his wife Susie had caused a lot of public opinion in the paddock.

Because Toto's wife Susie was appointed general manager of the F23 Academy in March 3, which is the place for training young talents. It is under the jurisdiction of FOM and reports directly to Domenicali.

Then, at the end of the 23rd season, a media article accused Toto and Susi of having a connection, and that Toto might have known some undisclosed information about FOM from Susi, which would be beneficial to the Mercedes team.

No one paid attention at first. After all, most of the words in this article were guesses and conjectures without any real evidence.

But after the winter break, the fans in the paddock might have been too idle, so this matter was brought up and began to ferment rapidly.

As time went by, the situation became more and more serious. The FIA ​​was forced to issue a statement overnight, announcing the establishment of a special investigation team to look into the matter, but no definite results have been reached so far.

After seeing this, Qin Miao could not help but complain: "What a disaster."

Of course, it didn't take long for this matter to come to fruition.

The FIA ​​announced that it would drop the investigation.

Because it is too difficult to investigate this matter.

Unless the FIA ​​went to all the bedrooms of Toto Wolff's properties overnight to install surveillance and recording equipment, how could they possibly know what Toto and Suzy were talking about while they were lying in bed?
Even if Toto and Susi were involved in this incident, the FIA ​​could not find any evidence to prove that this incident actually happened.

After all, most of the time, the exchange and transmission of this kind of information is verbal, and these two people are not stupid enough to leave any paper documents on this matter.

Therefore, this matter ended in vain.

In the end, the only one who was embarrassed was the FIA.

This is also a routine operation of the FIA ​​under Ben Sulayem's rule.

Qin Miao didn't find this strange.

But although the FIA ​​under Ben Sulayem's leadership has made many strange operations, Ben Sulayem's operations gave Qin Miao the feeling that he was trying to make his presence felt in the paddock and attract other people's attention. In the general direction, he still used the previous process and did not make any changes at will.

After this incident, Qin Miao looked at other news.

Of course, there was another big thing that surprised Qin Miao.

That is the soul of the Haas team, the biggest beneficiary of the official F1 documentary, and the eternal English teacher of F1 fans, Gunther Steiner, who was fired by Haas.

This was news in January, and after Steiner left, his position was taken over by Japanese player Reio Komatsu.

To be honest, after learning the news, Qin Miao thought Haas was crazy from a rational point of view.

You should know that a large part of Haas's sponsorship is invested in Steiner personally. After all, to be honest, his popularity in the paddock may not be as high as his.

Of course, if Qin Miao looks at this matter from the perspective of a driver who has worked in F1 for three years, there will not be any big problems if a team changes its team leader.

This is even a very normal operation for the team. If the team leader is not good enough, just replace him.

As for the soul of Haas, he is gone...

You have to know that F1 is a commercial alliance. Soul is not important here. What matters is money and results.

Therefore, Qin Miao feels that Haas’ performance next season may be even better than this season.

But no matter what, Haas is a bottom team and they now have room for improvement.

But then again, this news is indeed earth-shattering news for those fans who only watch F1 and don't care about the operation of F1.

Many people expressed their confusion about Haas.

Of course, there are also a group of people who lament that after Steiner left, the content of numbers starting with F in the F1 paddock decreased.

In addition, Arrow has stopped its title sponsorship of the Sauber team this season.

After all, Audi has now begun to steadily acquire Sauber's team shares, and in the near future Sauber will be named Audi.

So there is no need for Luo to stick to Audi's cold butt.

But after Arrow left, it would take another three years before Audi officially entered the market.

So Sauber vacated the naming rights for three years.

Therefore, Sauber will not continue to use the name Sauber for the next three years. After all, Audi will not invest money in Sauber during this period. So in order to keep the team running and make more money, Sauber directly sold the three-year naming rights of the team.

Just like when they sold the naming rights of the team to Arrow.

So in 2024, the Sauber team's name will be officially changed to: Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.

Some people may not know what Stake, the company that sponsors the Sauber team, does specifically.

How to say it... This is considered the largest online gambling platform abroad.

It also includes some live broadcast services.

As for gambling, anyone who knows about it knows that it is a completely lucrative industry, so it is not surprising that they have the money to sponsor an F1 team.

After all, you can only sponsor a team in the F1 paddock for three years. Other car manufacturing companies are unwilling to be the scapegoat, so only these gamblers are willing to do so.

But what makes people laugh is that Stake’s trademark is green.

Therefore, when Sobo announced the livery of its own team in the 2022 season, foreigners felt it was okay, but domestic car fans couldn't help laughing after seeing Sobo's livery.

The Sauber paint job is so damn green, and it's a fluorescent green.

The first impression of this color is not particularly good.

In response to this, Qin Miao called Zhou Guanyu and suggested that he just wear a green helmet this season, which would match the livery of their team.

Finally, while Zhou Guanyu was cursing, Qin Miao hung up the phone happily.

Apart from these three things, Qin Miao didn't pay much attention to F1 news. After all, nothing major happened during this period.

There was more news about drivers renewing their contracts with teams, and some teams made statements during the off-season that they had made changes.

Soon the next day came and Qin Miao went to Maranello.

Today Qin Miao is going to have a shooting day. Of course it is called a shooting day, but in fact it is a day for Qin Miao to adapt to the new season of SF24.

In fact, this opportunity existed as early as the new car launch conference.

However, the new car’s release date is set for February 2th.

At that time, Qin Miao was celebrating the New Year in the country and had no time at all.

Therefore, everything was kept simple during Ferrari's new car launch, and even the launch was held online. The only drivers present were Leclerc and Sainz, and Qin Miao did not go.

It is worth mentioning that although Ferrari gave Sainz the opportunity to terminate the contract early, it allowed him to find a seat for himself in the paddock.

However, during this period Sainz contacted many teams and did not find a team that suited his taste. In desperation, he chose to fulfill the original contract and continue to stay in Ferrari for another year.

So the new car launch was left to the two of them, and there wasn't even a notice criticizing Qin Miao's absence from within Ferrari.

There is no way, shareholders...

But on the day of the shooting, Qin Miao had no reason to refuse, and it was impossible for him to refuse.

After driving his Ferrari 488 GT3 that had been shipped to Italy to Maranello, Qin Miao was already familiar with the route to the team headquarters.

Qin Miao's 488 GT3, which can be legally driven on the road, quickly attracted a lot of people's attention.

Some people even greeted Qin Miao's car from a distance.

Everyone knows that the 488 GT3 cannot be driven on the road, because it is a thoroughbred racing car. The only 488 GT3 in the world that can be driven on the road is the 2 that Ferrari gave to Qin Miao during his F488 period, and then Qin Miao asked the Ferrari racing department to help modify the car.

So there is no need to think, anyone who knows a little about Ferrari knows that this car belongs to Qin Miao.

Today is the maiden voyage of the Ferrari SF24. The only person who can drive this car here is Qin Miao.

Qin Miao did not respond to the greetings with any obvious movements. He just nodded slightly to the people who greeted him. As for whether they could see it or not, that was not Qin Miao's business.

Soon the Ferrari 488 GT3 drove all the way to the inside of the Fiorano circuit.

Looking at the environment of the Fiorano circuit, which was basically the same as when he left Ferrari, Qin Miao couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

I drove to the parking space next to the P room of the track with ease.

Qin Miao stopped the car.

After getting off the car and looking in the direction of the P room, I saw many staff members in Ferrari uniforms busy at work, and Qin Miao's arrival did not attract their attention.

Only after they walked into Room P did they notice Qin Miao's arrival.

"Are you here?" After being reminded by his colleague, Frankie looked up from the monitor in front of him and hugged Qin Miao with a smile. "How was your winter break?" Frankie asked after letting Qin Miao go.

Qin Miao thought back to this year's winter break: "Not bad, I had a good time, how about you?"

Franky smiled bitterly. "We can't compare with you as a shareholder. We only have the two weeks of rest during the winter break stipulated by the FIA. The rest of the time we spend here. Fortunately, I am more familiar with the working process of Ferrari, which is not too difficult. And thanks to you, I feel much more comfortable working with my compatriots after returning to my hometown."

"It's good that you can adapt." Qin Miao patted Frankie's shoulder and said, "I remember when we came to Fiorano three years ago, you were still fat. You weighed 220 pounds at that time, right? Who would have thought that you would lose weight so quickly."

Franky also recalled with a smile: "Yes, at that time I just wanted to work at Prema until retirement. Who would have thought that I would have the opportunity to enter F1 with you, and work for three years, and win three world championships in these three years."

"And to be honest, with the intensity of my work at Mercedes, I can't lose weight even if I don't want to."

After the greetings, Qin Miao asked, "How's the racing going?"

Franky said, "You haven't touched a racing car for so long, are you itching to start? It's almost ready. I've already started adding oil before you came. Once the temperature of the parts inside the racing engine reaches the standard, we can start the racing car."

Qin Miao nodded: "Then I'll go change my clothes."

"Okay, the clothes and other things are already prepared in the lounge, just go and change."

Qin Miao chatted with Frankie, said hello to his colleagues who were busy working on the racing car, and then went to a lounge next door that was specially prepared for him to change into his Ferrari racing suit.

It's neither too big nor too small, just right.

Qin Miao nodded with satisfaction. At least this proved that he did not gain weight during the winter break.

After finishing all this, Qin Miao walked out of the lounge.

Just at this time, Wasser also came.

In fact, under normal circumstances, the team leader would not be present on the shooting day, but who asked Qin Miao to participate in the shooting day today?

After seeing Qin Miao, the two naturally exchanged greetings warmly again.

After completing this process, Qin Miao couldn't wait to put on this season's helmet and get into the car.

Qin Miao's helmet for this season was designed by Qiu Meng. There was nothing special about it. It was just an ordinary helmet with a red base and three yellow handprints covering the entire helmet.

These three hand prints belong to Qin Miao, Qiu Meng, and Xiao Muchu.

Maybe this helmet is not the best-looking helmet in the paddock this year, but for Qin Miao, the paint job on this helmet is absolutely unique in the world, and it is an extremely good-looking helmet.

After getting into the car, Qin Miao felt the fit of the racing seat. After making sure there was no problem, he fastened his seat belt and put on gloves.

Qin Miao was a little dazed for a moment when he saw the Mercedes logo turned into the Ferrari logo on the Velcro of his gloves.

After Qin Miao gave a thumbs up in the car to show that he was ready, Franky started the car. This was also the first time Qin Miao heard the roar of the SF1 engine.

To be honest, the sound of the SF24 engine is no different from the SF23 engine that Qin Miao tested in Abu Dhabi at the end of the 23rd season. After all, both cars use the same engine, but this year's engine has undergone some improvements.

According to Ferrari's engine department, this year's improvements have added ten horsepower to the engine, but the engine's overall durability remains unchanged.

Despite this, after hearing the roar of a new engine, Qin Miao still rubbed his hands excitedly.

Then he gently placed his hands on the steering wheel in front of him that was customized according to his hand shape.

Although the touch of the steering wheel is not that clear because I am wearing gloves, the grip feels good.

Each of the four fingers has a certain amount of space to move, and the fingers will not be squeezed, but there will also be no problem of the steering wheel easily slipping out of your hands when entering complex road conditions and the steering wheel starts to shake wildly.

The scale is just right.

At the same time, the buttons on the steering wheel were improved based on the suggestions made by Qin Miao during the post-season test at the end of last season.

Qin Miao tried all the buttons before driving out.

Except for the knob for adjusting the racing strategy, which requires you to let go of the steering wheel to adjust it, the other buttons can basically be pressed by just moving your thumb slightly. The ergonomic design of this steering wheel is indeed very good.

Nodding with satisfaction, Qin Miao put on his racing helmet.

After the visor of the helmet was lowered, the Ferrari prancing horse logo in the middle of Qin Miao's helmet shone brightly in the winter sun of Maranello.

A Ferrari photographer was squatting right in front of Qin Miao's car and happened to capture this scene.

The young king got into his car and after pulling down the black helmet visor, the Ferrari logo on the top of the helmet shone brightly in the sun.

The owner of this helmet, Qin Miao, the youngest triple crown winner in F1 history, is coated with a layer of dazzling golden light.

As expected, this picture became the front-page headline of Italian sports media.

……

"Radio test."

"Radio testing, clear and ready to go."

"receive."

After answering, Qin Miao gently pressed the clutch paddle on the back of the steering wheel, then shifted into first gear. Driven by the engine, the bright red SF24 racing car slowly drove out of the P room.

After Qin Miao drove the car out of the P room, he turned left and entered the Fiorano circuit directly.

It is worth mentioning that Ferrari's exclusive Fiorano track is not like a normal Grand Prix weekend track.

After all, it is a private track, and Ferrari has never thought of using this track to hold any competition. Therefore, the connection between the team's P room and the track is not two passages.

One intersection, one exit.

The P room of this track is built right next to the track, and there isn’t even a fence. After exiting the P room, turn left and you’ll be directly on the track.

After entering the track area, Qin Miao no longer cared about safety and stability. He quickly stepped on the accelerator pedal to the bottom and started today's shooting day.

As for Qin Miao, who has just got a new car and is full of freshness, he doesn't care whether today is a shooting day or not. He starts to quickly familiarize himself with the condition of the car and warm up the tires at the same time.

After running three laps on the track and basically getting a feel for the car's characteristics, Qin Miao started to accelerate.

Although Qin Miao is not as familiar with the Fiorano circuit as he is with the other tracks on the F1 calendar.

But he had also run many laps here during his time in Ferrari's youth training, so he had a certain degree of familiarity with the place. At least Qin Miao knew how to take each turn.

This also gave Qin Miao enough self-confidence.

After Qin Miao started to accelerate.

In the P room, after seeing Qin Miao's actions, Wasser frowned at first, and then his frown relaxed.

In Vasseur's opinion, Qin Miao was pushing forward with all his strength from the start today, as if he wanted to vent out the expectation that he had not been able to touch the car for some time.

Although allowing Qin Miao to demonstrate the strength of SF24 too early is not good news for Ferrari.

But when I think of Qin Miao's ability to keep the tire and his speed, what would it matter if Mercedes and Red Bull knew the speed of Ferrari this season? Ferrari already has a driver who can decide the outcome of the race this season.

With such a driver, it doesn't matter if Ferrari fully exposes the speed of its car this season.

Moreover, Vassell did not think that Qin Miao was capable of demonstrating the full speed of the SF1 when he first came into contact with it. In Vassell's opinion, Qin Miao was a genius, but if he wanted to unleash the full potential of a car, he would definitely need a long period of adaptation.

Then on the track, Qin Miao actually still had the ability to test the limit of this car on this track, but Qin Miao did not push it to the limit.

Qin Miao was more concerned about making himself run comfortably.

Qin Miao hadn't touched an F1 car during the winter break, so he came here to try it out.

Finally, after the shooting day was over, Qin Miao got off the racing car with satisfaction.

Qin Miao was happy and delighted at this time.

Because the SF24 is obviously in line with my driving habits for racing cars.

In short, compared to last season's SF24, the cornering and steering characteristics of the SF23 car are more inclined towards the understeer that Qin Miao likes, rather than the oversteer that Leclerc is accustomed to.

At the same time, the car is not as hard to drive as the W14 driven by Qin Miao last season, and it is still quite sensitive when entering corners.

Although the car tends to understeer overall, other aspects are pretty average.

Of course, there are areas that need improvement. Can you believe it has been 24 years? When Qin Miao drove the SF24 on the track and the final speed exceeded 300, the car still had dolphin jumps.

It is still necessary to strengthen the rigidity of the suspension and optimize the Venturi channel of the floor.

Of course, it is not ruled out that it is a problem of racing tuning.

But judging by the characteristics currently demonstrated by the SF24, this car is definitely one that can compete for the championship on tracks with more low- and medium-speed turns.

As for the high-speed turns and high-speed tracks, to be honest, the Fiorano circuit does not have the conditions for an F1 car to fully demonstrate its speed. We will have to run it in the winter test before the start of the season to know whether it is possible.

After the test, Qin Miao drove the car back to the P room with satisfaction.

Ferrari's filming day has officially ended today.

The roller shutters on both sides of the P room were also pulled down, blocking the eager sight of the reporters who were holding cameras and shooting frantically outside the track.

After getting off the car, Qin Miao was about to say something.

But as soon as Qin Miao got off the car, he found something wrong. When he first arrived at the track, Qin Miao's attention was all on the car, so he basically didn't pay much attention to the clothes worn by the Ferrari team staff.

But after the test was over, Qin Miao had had his fill and noticed that the clothes worn by the Ferrari team staff had changed significantly compared to last season.

PS. Dads, it’s the end of the month, please give me all the monthly tickets you don’t want.

(End of this chapter)